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Food Photography & StylingSun, 18 Nov 2018 16:41:42 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8https://i0.wp.com/www.culinaryxpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Capture.png?fit=30%2C32culinaryxpresshttp://www.culinaryxpress.com
3232120939100Instant Jalebi with Anjou pearshttp://www.culinaryxpress.com/instant-jalebi/
http://www.culinaryxpress.com/instant-jalebi/#commentsTue, 06 Nov 2018 17:15:07 +0000http://www.culinaryxpress.com/?p=59080Happy Diwali Friends. With Diwali being just a day away, I wanted to share a traditional homemade and instant crispy jalebi recipe with you all. Jalebi can be made in a number of ways. The traditional way in which the batter is fermented to get a sourness, which is a distinct characteristic of this Indian…

With Diwali being just a day away, I wanted to share a traditional homemade and instant crispy jalebi recipe with you all. Jalebi can be made in a number of ways. The traditional way in which the batter is fermented to get a sourness, which is a distinct characteristic of this Indian dessert or the instant version where there’s no fermentation required. Though I always make Jalebis in the traditional way, but due to time constraints many people shy away from making this dessert in the traditional manner. So this diwali give this instant version of Jalebi.

If you go through my previous posts you will know, this year I am incorporating fruits in traditional desserts for Diwali. This instant version of Jalebis are made with Red Pear or Anjou Pears. Red Anjou Pears are almost exactly like Green Anjou Pears, but are glorious rusty red in color. It has a mild flavor and a firm texture, while still being sweet and juicy. These Anjou pears are great for eating out of hand or for cooking and are usually available from May to October .

Jalebi is a spiral shaped traditional Indian sweet made with flour basically mixed with little chickpea flour and yogurt . The batter is fermented and then deep fried and dipped in sugar syrup.

Ingredients:

1cupall purpose flour

1/4tablespoonchickpea flour

1 tbsp ghee

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt or ENO

Less than 3/4th cup water

1 pear, pureed

oil or ghee, to fry jalebi

Sugar Surup

1cupsugar

1/2cupwater

1/4teaspooncardamom powder

few saffron strands

orange food color, optional

pistachios for garnishing.

In a large bowl mix flour , chickpea flour , ENO . Add the ghee and mix till it well. Now add the pear puree Add water to form a flowing consistency batter.The batter should not be too thick or thin. You may need up to 3/4 water depending on quality of flour and chickpeas flour.

Meanwhile add sugar to a pan. Add water and mix with sugar and let it all come to a boil.Once it comes to a boil, add cardamom powder, saffron strand . Let it simmer till syrup becomes sticky and form a one string consistency.

Transfer jalebi batter into a piping bag. Meanwhile Heat oil or ghee in a pan on medium-low heat.

make jalebis by squeezing batter in hot oil, making spiral motion from inside to outside. Remember to keep at low heat else you won’t be able to form the shape. Once you have made the spiral shape with the batter, increase the heat to medium-high.

Fry till crisp from both sides. Remove from oil and immediately dip in warm sugar syrup, few seconds on each side is good enough.

Remove jalebis from the sugar syrup and transfer to a serving plate. Enjoy homemade jalebi on this Diwali.

]]>http://www.culinaryxpress.com/instant-jalebi/feed/259080Persimmon Barfi- A fruity twist to traditional Diwali sweethttp://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmons-barfi-diwali-sweet/
http://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmons-barfi-diwali-sweet/#respondSun, 04 Nov 2018 16:58:06 +0000http://www.culinaryxpress.com/?p=59119Diwali sweet when we talk about Indian festivals, sweets are a must to be made at home or brought from the market to relish and celebrate.Diwali is such a festival when our houses are loaded with sweets and savories. Barfi, jalebi, malpua, kaju katli, peda, kheer, etc are few of the delicacies which I usually…

when we talk about Indian festivals, sweets are a must to be made at home or brought from the market to relish and celebrate.Diwali is such a festival when our houses are loaded with sweets and savories. Barfi, jalebi, malpua, kaju katli, peda, kheer, etc are few of the delicacies which I usually make during Diwali. This year, I will be celebrating our Diwali with a fruity twist to traditional Diwali sweets.

When it comes to include fruits in any form of traditional sweets, I love to experiment with flavors and have prepared kiwifruit sandesh, mango sandesh, apple malpua, apple chenapoda, apricot rabdi, sitaphal kalakand. As I was planning to include fruits in my diwali and I wondered how about making a Barfi with a fruit I have just fell in love with- Persimmon fruit.

Ingredients:-

For persimmon puree:

5 nos, ripened persimmons(peeled and pureed)

1/4th cup sugar

For Barfi:

1 cup paneer

1½ cup, full fat milk

1½ cup, milk powder

6 nos , cardamom crushed and powdered

1 no black cardamom,crushed and powdered

1/3rd cup, sugar (this fruit is sweet so adjust accordingly)

For garnishing:

chopped almonds and pistachios

Let’s make it:-

Peel and puree the persimmons. In a pan, cook the persimmons along with sugar till it reaches the thick sauce consistency. Take it off the stove and keep it aside.

]]>http://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmons-barfi-diwali-sweet/feed/059119Persimmon Rice Puddinghttp://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmon-rice-pudding/
http://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmon-rice-pudding/#respondThu, 01 Nov 2018 17:23:12 +0000http://www.culinaryxpress.com/?p=59103Persimmon Rice Pudding/ Kheer is a creamy, soft pudding filled with a hint of cardamoms and juicy Persimmons/Amar Phal can be made either by baking or boiling. Persimmon is known to have been brought into India by the British. It’s found mainly in the hilly regions of Himachal and Uttarakhand and also in Ooty in the south.…

Persimmon Rice Pudding/ Kheer is a creamy, soft pudding filled with a hint of cardamoms and juicy Persimmons/Amar Phal can be made either by baking or boiling. Persimmon is known to have been brought into India by the British. It’s found mainly in the hilly regions of Himachal and Uttarakhand and also in Ooty in the south. It’s a very seasonal fruit and is only available from mid September to end of November. This fruit is called Amar-phal because it continues to ripen after it is cut off from the plant and it is considered immortal (amar).

Since Diwali is approaching I have decided to make a rice pudding with this beauties.To make this rice pudding I have used Gobind Bhog rice for its lovely fragrance, full fat milk, White sugar(you can use jaggery also), ground cardamom, chopped almonds and pistachios along with some pureed persimmon.

Ingredients:

2 medium-size ripe persimmons or 1 cup persimmon puree

500 ml full fat milk

1/4 cup basmati rice

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tbsp chopped pistachios

1 tbsp chopped almonds

Chopped Persimmons for garnishing

Let’s make it:

Rinse the basmati rice in cold water twice then soak for 30 minutes to an hour. Drain.

Make deep cut in pointed end of each persimmon. Scoop out pulp into processor and puree until smooth. Measure 1 cup puree.

Combine milk, rice, cardamom powder and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to simmer, stirring to avoid getting stuck at the bottom. Reduce heat to low and cook till rice is cooked. Then add the sugar and continue to cook until pudding is very thick, stirring frequently, about 40 minutes.Turn the heat off and let the rice rest.

Gently fold the persimmon puree in the kheer. Garnish with Chopped almonds, pistachios and persimmons.

]]>http://www.culinaryxpress.com/persimmon-rice-pudding/feed/059103Upside down apple Chenapodahttp://www.culinaryxpress.com/upside-down-apple-chenapoda/
http://www.culinaryxpress.com/upside-down-apple-chenapoda/#respondWed, 31 Oct 2018 17:51:35 +0000http://www.culinaryxpress.com/?p=59084With winter around the corner and the falling leaves of the autumn, I am enjoying this pleasant weather and the aroma of the warm fall spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamoms . These spices really bring out the warmth and gives an edge to the food we cook. One spice, which is not…

With winter around the corner and the falling leaves of the autumn, I am enjoying this pleasant weather and the aroma of the warm fall spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamoms . These spices really bring out the warmth and gives an edge to the food we cook. One spice, which is not used frequently in western baking is the cardamom, however this musky spice is often used in many Indian foods. So when I was thinking of a recipe using my autumn apples , the one thing I was sure not to make the usual upside down apple cake. So I decided to make use of these apples in making an upside down cheese cake but with a desi twist. So what comes out is this splendid not-too-sweet Chenapoda (baked cheesecake) from Odisha with caramelized sliced apples on top which is perfect for celebration of fall and apple season.

CHHENA PODA is made of a few basic ingredients but yields a smoky, nutty flavored sublime dessert that is infinitely rich and intense. I particularly love it’s texture, it certainly looks like a cake but tastes like a slightly grainy pudding. How much I try to put my feelings in words, I don’t think I can truly describe in words what a wonderful dessert I am talking about. The proof of this dessert is totally in it’s eating. and considering how easy it is to make, you might start to making it now.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C and Line a parchment paper in a 6 inch baking pan and brush with with ghee .

Crumble and mash the chhena / panner when it is still warm with the help of a spatula till smooth. If you are using store bought paneer just add it to warm milk for 10 minutes, and you can easily use it for making this dessert. Add semolina, cardamom and mix well.

Add the whey or chenna water to make the batter a little runny and milk if you are using store bought paneer. Now add powdered sugar, 1 tbsp ghee, and knead it till sugar dissoves completely. Keep aside.

Now in a small sauce pan add 1 tbsp ghee and sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar and heat the pan. Once the sugar starts getting caramelized, switch off the flame and pour in the baking pan and tilt the baking pan so that its base is well covered with caramel syrup.

Now spread the sliced apples in circular motion to cover the base and pour the mashed chena mix over it and spread evenly using a flat spatula. Keep aside for 5 minutes.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 40 minutes till the top turns brown or in Microwave in convention mode at 180 degree for 45 minutes .

Insert a tooth pick in the center. It should come out clean. If it is wet, bake for 5 more minutes.

Run a knife through the sides and invert the baking pan on a plate as soon as it is out of the oven. Any delay will make the sugar at the base of the tin harder making it difficult to come out intact.

Once cool, you can slice the Chhena Poda and serve sprinkling with some chopped nuts.

Living in a coastal area, my knowledge about apples is quite less. If you ask me I could hardly tell names of 5 to 6 varieties of apples. You can not blame me as our supermarket here don’t go beyond Fuji and Granny Smith besides local varieties. While creating this autumn inspired post I was overwhelmed to know that there are around 7500 unique varieties of apple worldwide representing a number of different shapes, colors and flavors. .Out of all, Gala , Fuji,Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and the Red delicious are the most sought after apples during autumn .While I was searching to create something from these apples, I came across this German Sunken Apple Cake Here.

Though you can enjoy cakes all year round, but nothing is more welcoming than a warm slice of Apple Cake with a hot cup coffee or Tea when the evenings start to draw in. Apple cakes with plenty of cinnamon, nutmeg and other irresistible spices are traditionally the taste of autumn. The day I saw this recipe, I know I had to make this. This Apple Cake is perfect for the autumn inspired recipe series and has chunks of fresh apple, lots of fall spices and served with whipped cream.This is one of the most delicious apple cake you will come across.

Ingredients:

2 medium apple

1 medium lemon

1/2 cup sugar

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine salt

1 to 2 tbsp brown sugar

For the (whipped cream):

1 cup cold heavy cream

4 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Lets learn how to make this:

Preheat oven at 175°FC. Line the bottom of a 7-inch spring form pan with parchment paper; set aside.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Thinly slice each quarter lengthwise without cutting all the way through to the core side, leaving the quarter hinged together like a fan.

Finely grate the zest of the lemon into the bowl and squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Set aside.

Add the sugar and butter to the lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and 1 of the eggs. Beat until combined before adding the second egg. Beat until combined and then add the third egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and beat until combined.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Fold in the dry mixture into the wet mixture along with the lemon juice. The batter will be a little thick.

Pour into the greased pan and smooth the top. Gently press the apple quarters into the batter, core-side down, leaving only a bit of space between each quarter. Sprinkle the top evenly with the brown sugar.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the cake is golden-brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and removing the spring form ring. Let cool to room temperature.

When ready to serve, make the whipped cream . Place all the ingredients in the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Serve the cake at room temperature with a spoonful of the whipped cream.